People's Union of America

An eerie image from a prominent Chinese artist showing a futuristic Communist Party controlled New York is going viral amid rising nationalism and widespread belief that the Asian superpower is on course to power past its Western rival. It is one of a series of digital illustrations by artist Fan Wennan showing how the world may look in 2098 if the world turns its back on the United States. It shows tourists wandering through Manhattan with buildings draped in the hammer-and-sickle flags of the “People’s Union of America”. A caption describes a tour guide as saying that Asia and Europe are where the future is. “To take in the changes of history and feel the afterglow of the imperialist era,” the guide says, “head to North America.” The image has gone viral on social media week after it was shared by conservative Western commentators – warning what could happen to the US in the future.